The German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said that Germany is ready to authorize Poland to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine upon request of Warsaw (capital of Poland).
Under the license agreement, countries cannot send German tanks without Berlin’s approval.
Such move will help the war-devastated Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
“We know how important these tanks are and this is why we are discussing this now with our partners. We need to make sure people’s lives are saved and Ukraine’s territory liberated,” Baerbock told LCI television on Sunday after a Franco-German summit in Paris, reports Aljazeera.
He also said Poland had not yet asked for export permission. If Poland did so, Germany would not stand in the way.
The remarks appeared to indicate that Berlin was prepared to authorize European countries to supply German-made tanks to Ukraine, amid mounting pressure from Kyiv and other allies.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states – Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania – urged Germany “to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now”, reports BBC.
There have been no deliveries of Western-designed main battle tanks to Ukraine for defensive fighting against invading Russian forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he would not rule out sending Leclerc tanks, main battle tank of France, to Ukraine.
What is Leopard 2?
The Leopard 2 is a German-made main combat tank with a range of around 500 kilometers (311 miles). It entered service in 1979 and had a top speed of 68km/h (42mph).
It is armed with two coaxial light machine guns as well as a 120mm smooth bore gun as its main armament.
